Don't You Forget About Me
by Abagail Snow
Summary: After the episode Showmance, Rachel finds herself trapped in Saturday detention with Finn, Puck, Santana, and Kurt.  Over eight hours of imprisonment, the kids learn they may have more in common than they ever thought.  Breakfast Club Tribute.
1. 8:56  Rachel Berry's Personal Hell

**Okay, so I've had this idea bottled up in my head for a while now of what would happen if Rachel, Finn, Santana, Puck and Kurt were stuck in Saturday detention a la **_**The Breakfast Club**_**. This is loosely based on a combination of the original film as well as that episode of **_**Dawson's Creek**_** that paid homage to it (an episode I'm fond of because I wrote my first DC fan fic about it ages ago). It takes place the weekend after the episode _Showmance_ and isn't really cannon with the rest of the series. Anyway, this is more of an ensemble piece, unlike majority of the **_**Glee**_** fic I've done so far, although there may be some light pairings, it will mainly focus on friendships. I've got it outlined to be about 10 parts from various characters points of view so without further delay…**

_8:56AM _

Rachel Berry had never been punished before. Surely there were moments in which she made morality sit in the back seat, and in some of those cases she had been caught, but _never _had she been punished before.

She thanked her classical stage training that gave her cat like reflexes when it came to producing histrionics. It had proven to be a tactical strategy in diverting any and all negative attention from herself when caught in the aftermath of her "poor" decisions.

However, when Mr. Schuester approached her right before the final warning bell to escort her to Principal Figgins office she knew her perfect streak was about to change.

_*swipe*_

"_But I thought the situation was handled," Will said to Principal Figgins._

_Rachel glanced over her shoulder to see Ms. Sylvester pacing the office. Was there some sort of disciplinary committee that she wasn't aware of? She made a mental note to investigate the situation; in the event of anymore infractions at least she'd have allies. She turned her glare to Mr. Schuester, at least allies who weren't trying to sabotage her for being more talented than them._

"_William, the only thing that was handled out there was a couple of teenage girls and some weird Elvin creature!"_

"_Sue," Principal Figgins scolded. "I'm sorry William, but we've received several complaints from the parents of the Celibacy Club. Apparently Ms. Berry invaded their club earlier this week to denounce abstinence and push her," he cleared his voice before lowering it several decibels, "sexual agenda."_

"_That's not fair!" Rachel exclaimed before quickly recoiling in her seat. She shook her head, she was too impassioned. She had to dial things back to "victim." She pressed her lips together. Who could she blame? Ms. Pillsbury had suggested she try new things to impress Finn. Sure she probably meant by joining the football team or buying a video game console, but she obviously should have specified what was appropriate. Or maybe she could push blame onto Quinn. The first half of the Celibacy Club meeting was dedicated to presenting an overtly sexualized illusion after all. How was that any different than her "Push It" performance? _

_She plastered a stage smile across her lips, "I was only informing them of relevant information I had learned from my Health Education class earlier this semester. I would never persecute somebody for their own beliefs, I have two gay dads after all, and they've taught me to be open and mindful of all people's opinions. If I may, I'd like to issue a formal apology to the Celibacy Club to be printed on the front page of the school paper this Monday. I'll submit a head shot for the article as soon as I get home." She quickly stood and made a bee line towards the door._

"_Ms. Berry," Principal Figgins said, "please take a seat."_

_She huffed. This would not stand. She could not… no would not receive a record. She looked at Mr. Schuester expectantly. Say something! She shouted with her eyes._

"_Principal Figgins, Rachel is a good kid. Sure she's a little misguided sometimes, but it's not like she's done anything worse than what 90% of students do every day. Just last week I saw Noah Puckerman and Santana Lopez performing a scene just a graphic as the students' 'Push It' routine against a school locker and you deemed it innocent hugging."_

"_Ms. Lopez is an All American cheerleader, Mr. Puckerman is on the football team, their members of the Celibacy Club," Figgins reasoned. "It was wholesome."_

_Rachel rolled her eyes._

"_Face it, William, you're infusing these kids with more sexual depravity through explicit song lyrics than you infuse gel in your hair. Music has been proven to be the leading cause of death in this country for the last century! There's a reason why the CIA had Lennon assassinated."_

"_What?" Rachel and Will both shouted in unison._

"_I'm sorry William, but between Ms. Berry's outburst at the Celibacy Club and her," he cleared his throat uncomfortably, "performance at the pep assembly, she has demonstrated a pattern. I have no choice but to issue her a week of after school detention. My hands are tied!" _

_Rachel gasped._

"_That's it?" Sue exclaimed. "It is my opinion that she spends thirty days in solitary confinement!"_

"_However," Figgins continued. "Due to budget cuts we can no longer support staffing and room availability five days a week for disciplinary matters." Rachel let out a sigh of relief. "Therefore, a week's worth of detention will be filled on a Saturday."_

_Rachel folded her arms over her chest defiantly._

_*swipe*_

She wasn't the first to enter the library for her punishment. Kurt Hummel was already sitting at the farthest table with his head ducked in shame. At least she wouldn't be the only _normal_ person in a pool full of cretins, she decided as she took a seat next to him.

"Oh God," Kurt sat up quickly. "This truly is my own personal hell."

Rachel ignored his statement with a large grin. "Did you get detention for the glee performance too? Maybe the whole club will be in. It'll be fun!"

Kurt narrowed his eyes at her, "No."

"Then why are you in Saturday detention?"

He looked around uncomfortably. "Well, I..." he trailed off and as the next group of people filed into the library he quickly added, "nothing." Rachel watched Kurt, who had sunken so low in his chair that he was nearly sitting on the floor, before glancing over her shoulder to see who had joined them.

It was Noah Puckerman and Santana Lopez. She had to stifle her laugh because it was just too obvious that these two of all people would be in Saturday detention. In fact, she was fairly certain that they had a standing appointment every Saturday for disciplinary action… even during the summer.

"Ew," Santana bit at the sight of Rachel. "I know eight hours is a long time for you to abstain, or whatever, but try not to hump us in one of your freaky outbursts today, okay?"

Rachel blushed. Kurt and Puck laughed. She was going to die.

"All right," Mr. Schuester said walking into the library with a clip board. "It looks like we're just waiting for one more person."

And then the worst possible thing that could ever happen to Rachel Berry occurred. Well behind getting detention, losing the Tony, and being told she was "not right" for the part of Evita. Through the doors walked Finn Hudson.

His eyes scanned the library and it was obvious that he had never seen this room of the school before. He grinned when he saw Puck and Santana, but when he spotted Rachel and Kurt, his brows shot up so high they nearly disappeared into his hairline.

"Finn, you're here," Mr. Schuester said. "Take a seat so we can get started."

Rachel cringed as he took a seat directly beside her. Had he forgotten their tryst in the auditorium? The one that was so mortifying and scarring that she had blocked it out entirely up to this moment. He gave her an oblivious smirk. She wanted to stand up, slap him, and storm out. Maybe then he would understand how he made her feel. Rejection was a bitch and she could be one too if she wanted to.

"Look," Mr. Schuester continued, "I don't want to be here today any more than you do." Rachel scoffed; maybe he should have given a better case when she was being persecuted in the Principal's office! "But there's nothing I can do. I'd really appreciate if you guys could all do me a favor and just sit quietly and work on your homework or something. I've fallen behind on some other work…" He cringed embarrassingly. "And will be busy reupholstering the computer chair in Coach Sylvester's office."

"Hollar!" Santana shouted.

"Don't think that means I won't be keeping an eye on you all. I may be behind on Spanish lectures and glee assignments, and I might have bitten off more than I can chew by manning both detention and the janitorial staff, and my wife might be hormonally unbalanced due to pregnancy hormones and withdrawal from her antidepressants… but that doesn't mean I won't come down on you… hard for stepping out of line."

Rachel rolled her eyes. Mr. Schue couldn't even come down hard on an ant, even if he stomped on it. She made a scene of removing her notebook from her backpack, elbowing Finn with as much force as she could muster in the process to make it clear she did not want him near her.

"Are you okay?" Finn asked carefully.

"Do I look okay?" She snapped back before dramatically whipping her bag off the floor and moving to the next table over.

"So what are you doing in detention?" Santana perched herself on the library table across from Puck and crossed her legs suggestively.

"Ms. Pillsbury caught me tossing some kids in the dumpster," he explained shooting a glare in Kurt's direction.

"I thought you got in a fight," Santana said. "I mean that shiner you've got is totally hot."

Rachel looked at Puck curiously to see that his left eye was bruised and swollen. He bowed his head and lowered his voice, "I told you already. I got it at fight club, last night. Some dude totally sucker punched me." He seemed to regain his usual cocky demeanor. "You should see him now, though. I hit him in the face with my nun chucks and then stole his wallet to buy dip."

"I am so turned on right now," Santana said shaking her head in awe. She quickly turned her attention to Kurt, "What about you Lady Fingers? How did you get detention? Did you spontaneously burst into flames in the hallway or something?"

Rachel and Kurt seemed to roll their eyes in unison. "No," Kurt said firmly. "I…" he looked around carefully. "I… uh… I said 'bitch' in class," he finally said. "You know small town mentality. It can be so stifling when you're just trying to express yourself."

Santana didn't seem convinced but was already bored. "Rachel's probably in detention for starting a sex riot, but what about you Finn Hudson?"

"Me?" Finn asked after blinking about a thousand times. "Um." He pressed his lips in a straight line and tapped his foot loudly. Finn was not one to think on his feet… or off his feet as he was right now. "Same thing as Rachel," he said with an eager nod. "Yeah I felt bad about the assembly so I took the blame."

"Yeah right," Santana laughed. "Quinn told me you spent almost two hours crying about it last night because it wasn't even your idea." Rachel wanted to find a nice corner to bury herself in books and die.

He frowned. "What about you Santana? Why are _you_ in detention?"

She shrugged her petite shoulder. "If I told you, it would only blow your mind."

Finn took the bait. "Oh really? I'm sure."

Santana hopped off the table and began to saunter around the room. "After Cheerios practice the other day, Britt got a hold of some pills," she paused to lean across the table in Finn's direction and Rachel tried her best not to gag. "Not the boring aspirin stuff, the good kind. While we were tripping we ran into the boys cross country team," she grinned. "Let's just say that they have endurance."

"Wait," Kurt interrupted. "If this involves you, Brittany and the entire cross country team, than why are you the only one in detention?"

Santana scoffed, "I don't know. Racial profiling?"

Puck nodded approvingly.

"You are so full of shit," Finn said bluntly.

Rachel's eyes drifted up to the clock. It was only 9:08.


	2. 9:47  Puck's Guide to Woman

**It's always very exciting to see feedback. Believe me, it totally makes my day. I'm glad that people are enjoying the story thus far. **_**Sixteen Candles **_**was on this afternoon so I viewed it as a sign. Anyway, the parts are going to alternate between intimate two person scenes and group scenes. So readers that are hungry for some Kurt/Finn, Kurt/Rachel, Rachel/Santana, Kurt/Rachel/Puck, sit tight, they'll be coming. Also just to warn you, since this is based on early season 1, Puck is still an ass, but hopefully you'll find him a loveable ass like I do.**

_9:47AM_

Noah Puckerman couldn't fall asleep. He balled his hoodie into the shape of a pillow and dropped his head. He was in perfect napping conditions. First off, he was in school, which was so freaking boring he usually found himself in an instant coma. Second, Santana was too busy on the other side of the room doing her nails to pay attention to him. And third, it was so quiet in the library that he could actually hear Rachel singing to herself in her head.

Across the room his eyes landed on Finn. He had turned into such a pansy since joining that glee club. Finn used to be up for anything but now it was all, "No we shouldn't steal beer from Kroger's, that's illegal." Or "No we shouldn't push that wheel chair kid down the stairs, that's mean." Or "No we shouldn't throw pee balloons at Rachel Berry's house, that's gross." He was becoming a total lame ass.

Puck sighed and followed Finn's gaze. He was staring at that freaky glee chick, Rachel… again. He groaned, audibly. He really wanted to know what was going on in that big dumb head of his. More importantly he wanted to pull out a telescope to hand to his buddy because that was the only way he'd be able to see Rachel Berry's non-existent rack.

"You've got to be kidding me," Puck said as he approached Finn. "I've seen mosquitoes leave more impressive marks."

"What?" Finn was startled and quickly realized that he had been caught. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said nervously.

Pucks jaw dropped in disgust. "Wait; are you like _into_ that Mariah-Carey-want-to-be?"

Finn shrugged, "I don't know. She's kind of cool."

"No way. She's like a one way ticket to Loserville, population you two."

"Yeah," Finn said as if he finally got his head out of his ass. Puck sighed in relief. "But I think she might be more willing to put out." Puck couldn't be mad at him for this. At least he was acting like a dude again.

"Just because she mounted you in front of the whole school doesn't mean she'll put out. She's a total tease. Trust me, I can tell."

Finn shifted his eyes, "Look. Don't tell anyone, but we kind of made out after the assembly."

Puck wasn't sure if he should high five him or to punch him in the face. Sure Rachel was hot enough, but he was dating Quinn, who was hot, popular, and could totally hold her own in a fight. Rachel was like a desperate little puppy and boring as hell.

"Do you think I'd still be popular if I broke up with Quinn and started dating Rachel?" Finn asked suddenly.

Puck nearly choked. "Dude, are you insane? That's like social suicide!" He shook his head. "You've already tipped the scale with your whole A Caball-Lickers thing, dating her would put you to new heights of Mount Lame."

"I guess so," Finn finally agreed. "She just makes me feel things."

"Like a gay-wad?"

"No," he glared at him. "She makes me feel special."

Puck rolled his eyes. The Finn Hudson he used to know really was gone. "If you're so desperate to get laid, I know plenty of ladies who will do the trick. Hell, all you have to do is ask Santana about the weather and she'll gargle your balls in her mouth." Finn turned his gaze to Santana, _atta boy,_ Puck thought with a grin.

"No," he said after a moment. "I couldn't do that."

"Then you have to use Rachel to your advantage," Puck explained to Finn like he was five. "When girls are threatened they become total jelly in your hands."

"Where'd you get that black eye again?"

Puck forgot; how did he say it happened before? "I was cleaning out my Nana's garage…" He didn't need to explain himself. "Shut up man, I know what I'm talking about. I'm the guy who has actually done it before, like a ton of times. You have to feed off their self esteem."

Finn was intrigued. "How so?"

"Let Quinn know that if she's not prepared to offer you her services, that you already have a willing participant lined up and ready to go. She'll be out of that Cheerio's uniform faster than you can spell 'To Bang.'"

"Are you kidding me? There's no way I could say that to Quinn, she'd murder me! She's really mean and," he lowered his voice, "I'm kind of scared of her."

"Fine, be that way if you want to die smelling like 'virgin.' You've got to man up, Dude. Show her whose boss. Or else prepare to spend the rest of your life waking up with a hard on every morning and her telling _you_ to take care of it."

Finn turned his attention back to Rachel. "I think Rachel could be popular if she wanted to. Like if she wore low cut tops or got a cool pet or something. And she could still totally get boobs, right?"

Puck was left speechless. Finn was hopeless. If Finn wasn't going to try and bang Quinn Fabray, he was _more_ than willing to.


	3. 10:30  Finn Hudson's Social Heirarchy

_10:30AM_

Finn Hudson watched Santana Lopez rummage through her purse. So far this morning he had seen her pull out a full makeup kit, two different Cheerios-brand thermoses, unload an entire nail salon, and flip through an increasing stack of trashy magazines.

Puck seemed to notice this too. "Holy shit, Santana, what do you have in there?" He asked as he lifted her large purse and jingled it a few times before dropping it back on the table with a thud.

"I don't know," she said snatching her bag back. "My stuff."

This piqued Kurt's curiosity. "You know you can tell a lot about a person based on what they carry in their bags."

Santana rolled her eyes, "Yes, the autographed copy of Elton John's biography in your backpack is a real shocker."

Finn frowned. He didn't get why Santana was so mean to Kurt all the time. "Hey back off," he said before he could fully consider it. Santana was going to bite his head off.

"Oh don't even start with me Finn," the wrath of Santana began. "We all know you're packing a bottle of Extendze in your back pocket."

Finn blushed. He knew he shouldn't have told Quinn about his issue. The entire Cheerio squad probably spent half their rehearsal time laughing at him. He looked over to Rachel and prayed that she had never seen that stupid Jimmy Johnson commercial. If Rachel knew what a loser he was when it came to sex no way would she still be into him. He had to stay a stud.

Puck was the only one who knew how to handle Santana and never put up with her crap. That's why he and Puck were such good friends. He was the nice guy who attracted the crowd, while Puck was the muscle who kept people in line.

Puck dumped the contents of Santana's purse across the table. "What the hell is this?" He asked picking up a handful of loose breadsticks.

"Oh my God," Santana reached for them and quickly began munching them. "Me and Brittany went to Breadstix last weekend. I didn't realize I still had some left. They're awesome because you can have as many as you can carry and they never go bad."

"That's because they're already stale," Finn flinched. Santana was hot, but she was totally gross.

"Did you steal all this jewelry?" Kurt asked sifting through the tagged items.

"But your dad's a doctor, you're like totally rich," Finn said.

"The cashier told me I couldn't fit in an extra small even if I wanted to. I was going to drop these earrings down his pants to get him fired but I didn't want him to think I was coming on to him," she shrugged. "So I just took it and reported it to his manager."

"You're awful!" Rachel exclaimed from her corner of the library after what seemed like hours of silence on her part.

"What are you hiding in there, Puckerman?" Santana asked reaching her hand into Puck's pocket, not even deeming Rachel with a response. "Fake ID?" She said picking through his wallet. "Hot. Is this a picture of your nana?" She asked with a hint of disgust. Puck shrugged. "Lame. Oh, a credit card!" She said picking the card out to examine it. "What's the limit?"

"I don't know, like 500 bucks," Puck said.

She huffed. "Double lame." She looked over at Finn expectantly.

"Sorry, I don't have a credit card," he said.

"Ew, I'm not hitting on you," she held her hand out for his wallet. "Even I have standards."

Finn emptied his pockets. Chewed piece of gum he was saving for later, left over pop tart for lunch, and twelve dollars plus change.

"You keep a condom in your wallet?" Puck laughed. "Wishful thinking much?"

This seemed to concern Rachel who leaped across the room and into the conversation. "You do realize that storage of prophylactics in a warm damp place like a leather wallet renders them almost completely ineffective."

"Is a Planned Parenthood pamphlet the only piece of literature you have as reading material?" Kurt asked. "I mean really."

"Don't worry," Puck said with a laugh. "It's only there for decoration."

Finn narrowed his eyes. Puck could be a total douche sometimes.

Santana cleared her things off the table and back into her purse. "Okay VonTrapp, your turn."

Kurt emptied several different types of moisturizers from his bag. Finn cocked his brow. Kurt either jacked off constantly or was the softest human on Earth.

"I have really sensitive skin that varies with the weather," he explained before popping the lid off his industrial sized hairspray for a quick mist.

"Organic pita chips and hummus! That's my favorite snack," Rachel said pointing at Kurt's perfectly packed lunch. "Is that the jalapeño flavor?"

Kurt looked perplexed then disgusted. "Yes, it's pretty much all I eat," he said dryly.

Finn was confused. Was Rachel hitting on Kurt? She did know that he was… well he had always assumed that Kurt was gay. He thought it was pretty obvious but never bothered to ask. Was that something that dudes talked about? Like their feelings and stuff? This made him think though, he always heard that girls go for guys that reminded them of their dad and Rachel had two gay dads so he guessed it kind of made sense.

"Hey," he said reaching for a random bottle of lotion. "Can I try some?" He asked keeping his eyes trained on Rachel just in case she was into that sort of thing.

"All right Rachel, it's your turn," Kurt said placing his hands on his hips.

She sank back towards the table she was sitting at before. "I don't really have anything that interesting."

"Come on, Rach," Finn said, "we all revealed our deep dark secrets."

Rachel carried a small purse, it's not like she could fit anything that embarrassing in it. She pulled out two iPods first. "Decoy," she explained holding one of the MP3 players up. "People seem to find flushing my belongings down the toilet to be endlessly entertaining," she spat turning her attention to Puck.

Finn found himself turning his attention to Puck as well with accusing eyes. Maybe if Puck wasn't such a dick to Rachel people wouldn't make fun of her so much. Then she would be popular and then they could totally go out. Finn took a mental note to kick Puck's ass.

Next she pulled out some lip gloss, some hair spray, and a small compact. Nothing too exciting in his opinion, but everyone else seemed to laugh hysterically at it.

"Do _you_ of all people really need this?" Santana asked holding up the compact.

"Cool, is that like a compass or something?" Finn asked because camping was awesome.

"It's the pill, you dumbass," Puck mocked. _Definitely kick Puck's ass_, he noted.

How was he supposed to know? It's not like he'd ever seen it before. Quinn wasn't on the pill because her parents would never in a million years let her get it, but more importantly because she heard that it made people fat.

"It's important to be prepared," Rachel reasoned.

Kurt picked the final object out of Rachel's purse: a seemingly endless strip of condoms.

"Are you serious?" He murmured with wide eyes.

She snapped them away and smiled nervously. "And to have various birth control options," she added.

"Hold up," Santana clapped her hands together joyfully. "Part of me is disgusted by the fact that you have more birth control in your purse than a drugstore. But the other part can't help but find it sickly adorable that you not only think a guy will want to have sex with you, but will want to do it multiple times!"

"Hey," Finn broke in. Maybe if he treated Rachel like she was a cool person, other people would think she was cool too. "There's nothing wrong with being responsible or whatever. I think it's _cool._"

He couldn't miss the grin Rachel flashed before remembering that she hated him.

"You would," Puck said with a roll of the eye.

_Crap._ Finn thought to himself. He really had to stop telling people all of his secrets.

"What does that mean?" Santana asked.

Finn looked at Puck pleadingly. For a best friend, he sure was a ticking time bomb. "I _mean_ that Finn was the only other _lame ass_ carrying around condoms like he was going to get some."

Finn was never so glad to be insulted in his life. Maybe he wouldn't have to kick Puck's ass after all.


	4. 11:03  Kurt Hummel's Identity Crisis

_11:03AM_

Kurt Hummel took a seat on the floor and leaned back against a book shelf. He positioned his headphones into his ears, turned the volume up on his music player and hit play. His eyes scanned the library lazily. Of all the people he had to be trapped in a library for six hours it had to be them.

Santana Lopez? Ignorant and hostile.

Noah Puckerman? Did he even have to elaborate?

Rachel Berry? Disconcertingly similar to him.

Finn Hudson? Well he was a different story entirely.

"Hey. I thought iPods were off limit," Finn said crouching beside him.

Kurt's breath caught in his throat. "I told Mr. Schuester I would help form a lesson plan for glee next week. He's completely swamped and I am not prepared to be an accessory in his next attempt at a disco revival." He shrugged, "Plus, now that Rachel's on his bad side it's my best chance of actually getting solos."

"What do you have so far?" Finn leaned closer to inspect the screen of his iPod.

Kurt could only sit frozen. Was Finn coming on to him? "Why are you hanging out with me?" Kurt said abruptly. After years of being tortured by half the meat heads on which ever sports team that was in season, Kurt was rightfully paranoid of any and all changes of heart. Especially from the quarterback.

Finn groaned. "Santana's a total bitch," he started and Kurt couldn't help but agree. "Puck is like PMS-ing or something if dudes could even do that," he continued. "And Rachel totally hates me."

Kurt narrowed his eyes. He glanced over at Rachel who was at her recluse table staring longingly at Finn. "Right," he slowly agreed. "Well I'm happy to serve as your last resort."

"Cool," Finn said with a nod and Kurt couldn't stop the sigh that escaped his lips because Finn was too dumb to recognize self-deprecating humor. More importantly, Finn seemed too dumb to try and maliciously bully him. He could be a Knight in shining armor if he wanted to. "Could I help?" Kurt realized he had been gawking at Finn, who was now holding his iPod and scanning through it.

"You have no idea," he murmured.

"What?"

"Nothing," Kurt said snatching back his iPod. He cleared his throat to regain his composure. "I'm sort of on an 80's kick. You know that New Wave punk pop style they used in John Hughes films."

"What? Like _Back to the Future_?"

Kurt cringed. "No… _Pretty in Pink_?" He paused long enough to register Finn's blank reaction. "_Sixteen Candles_?" Another blank. "_The Breakfast Club_?" He realized he was shouting.

"Does that have to do with cereal or something?"

Kurt wanted to scream. "Don't you have cable? These movies are classics and they're on every damn day!"

Finn shrugged. "I usually just watch _Sports Center._"

"You are just like my father…" Kurt trailed off when the realization struck. Was that what this was? His eyes scanned Finn. Flannel? Check. Vest? Check. Work Boots? Check. All he was missing was a baseball hat and a ratty Bruce Springsteen tee shirt.

"Is everything okay?" Finn asked nervously.

Kurt was shaken from his daze. "What?" He said absently.

"You broke your mechanical pencil," Finn said picking up the scrap of plastic.

"Oh." He took a deep breath. "Finn, do you think I'm weird?"

He donned the usual 'deer caught in headlights' expression that he favored so much. "Is that like a trick question?"

Kurt frowned, "Nevermind."

"You're different," Finn shrugged. "That's all. I mean aren't we all a little different? That's what makes us special, right?"

Kurt wanted to gag. Finn had obviously been spending way too much time getting motivational with Rachel and Mr. Schue. "Are we friends?" He asked bluntly.

"Sure," he replied. "I guess."

"But if you ever wanted to just hang out with the guys, would you ever stop and think 'hey let me call Kurt'?"

Finn narrowed his eyes. "What is this about?"

"I'm having a hard time relating with my dad. He likes tires and dirt and grease and.." Kurt cringed at the thought.

"Cool," he grinned.

"Exactly."

"So? My mom likes soap operas and gossip magazines and we're still totally close. It's no big deal, in fact it's kind of a good thing because it means you don't have to hang out with them all the time."

Kurt tried to take this advice to heart. "I just feel like maybe he's disappointed."

"No way," Finn scoffed. "You make really awesome snack food and give really good advice about feelings and clothes and stuff. Sometimes guys like to do those kinds of things too."

"Thanks, Finn." He extended one of his ear buds. "Here this was a song idea I had for the club; it's from _The Breakfast Club._" He explained cueing "Hearts too Hot to Hold."

"Cool," he said nodding his head to the beat. "But who'd sing the girl part?"

"Me, obviously."

Finn just smiled tightly.

"So are you two like dating now?" Puck said peaking over one of the library's many book cases.

_I wouldn't say no if he asked,_ Kurt thought before quickly dismissing it. Instead he just focused on Puck's black eye with a content grin.

"Layoff Puck," Finn said climbing back to his feet. "Why do you always have to be such a dick?" He said before glancing over his shoulder to offer him a supportive nod.


	5. 12:15  Santana Lopez Dares You to Run

_12:15PM_

Santana Lopez was so bored she was going to explode. Like literally. Guts everywhere. She looked around for Puckerman thinking there might be a corner they could occupy for an hour or two to blow the time. However, as her eyes scanned the gathering of the Loser Kingdom, Santana came up with a much better idea.

"You know what this party needs," she said, breaking the silence. "An enlightening game of Truth or Dare."

"I'm in," Kurt said immediately, nearly jumping to his feet in excitement.

Finn folded his arms over his chest, "No way."

Rachel looked around confused. "I've never heard of it."

"Have you lived under a rock or something?" Santana couldn't help but laugh. Obviously Rachel hadn't been to a slumber party in… ever.

Puck emerged from a row of books, haphazardly disorganizing the Encyclopedias as he walked. "It's just some lame game that girls came up with to be mean to one another for 'fun'." He said dryly.

Santana crossed her arms over her chest. "I'll remind myself of that the next time I see you dropping Liberace here in the dumpster," she said nodding in Kurt's direction.

"I want to play," Rachel decided. Finn dramatically dropped his head in his hands.

"Everyone else is in Finny," Santana said sweetly. "And nobody likes a party pooper."

Finn kicked his chair back from the table and threw his hands in the air. "Fine," he groaned and pointed a finger in Santana's direction. "But when this all goes horribly wrong, remember that I _knew_ it would be a bad idea."

She rolled her eyes. "Boo hoo, cry me a river," she retorted. Santana traipsed over to Rachel and hoisted herself onto the table she sat at. "Rachel Berry," she began sweetly. "Truth or dare?"

Rachel blushed, "What am I supposed to do?"

"Truth, you answer whatever question I ask. Dare, you do whatever I say."

She contemplated if for a moment. "Fine," Rachel shrugged. "Truth."

Santana smirked. "Since you're trying to start your own sexual revolution, have you ever even done it before? You know, had sex?"

Rachel looked around nervously. "That's personal!"

"Be that way," Santana shrugged. "I must say I have a very entertaining dare lined up if you decide not to play by the rules."

Kurt laughed and waved a dramatic arm, "Obviously she hasn't. Rachel's probably never even been kissed."

Rachel jumped to her feet if only to stubbornly place her hands on her hips. "That's not true!"

"Really?" Kurt and Santana asked in unison.

"I didn't realize there was a male version of Helen Keller," Santana scoffed.

"While I can't say whether the perpetrator was deaf, dumb, and blind, I can certainly confirm that he was at least _one_ of those things," Rachel said pointedly shooting a glare in Finn's direction.

Santana's jaw dropped. No wonder Quinn hated Rachel so much, girl didn't just lie down and take a beating. "All right, Berry." She said with a tinge of respect. "Your move."

Rachel turned her attention to her victim and stalked them coyly. "Puck," she said approaching him. "Truth or dare?"

"Are you serious?" He laughed. "Did I suddenly grow an impressive pair of tits or something? Truth doesn't even exist in the guy version. It's dare or you're done and there's no line I can't cross because I _am_ the line."

She cocked her head sweetly. "Join the glee club," she said simply.

"Are you kidding? No way."

"What's the big deal?" Rachel asked. "Everyone here is already in the club, which now includes three popular cheerleaders and the star quarterback. Are you not cool enough for the club or something?"

Santana scoffed, "Please do not associate me with your level." She wasn't in glee club because she _liked_ it; she was in the club because if she stayed in Coach Sylvester's good graces _she_ would get promoted to head Cheerio.

"Come on Puck," Finn teased. "Or are you going to get the sex change and go for a truth."

"Don't test me, Finn," Puck sent an accusing finger in his friend's direction. "Remember, no matter how this shakes out, it's my turn next."

Finn's lips were suddenly sealed.

"All right, I'll join the stupid lame ass club," he said mockingly waving his hands in freight. "I'm officially in the glee club."

Rachel gasped, obviously never expecting for her scheming to work. "Really?"

Puck grinned. "Yeah," and then not a beat passed before he continued. "And now I quit. Learn how to add some stipulations the next time you try playing with fire."

Rachel folded her arms over her chest with a huff.

"Finnderella," Puck said clasping his hands together. "Truth or dare?"

Finn swallowed thickly. "Dare," he said because Finn would freaking wax his eyebrows if Puck told him it was the manly thing to do.

Puck's smile was deliciously evil. "I dare you to kiss Rachel Berry."

Rachel looked mortified.

The color drained from Finn's face. "No way man," he said half nervously, piquing Santana's attention. "I can't do that. I have a girlfriend."

"Oh really," Puck circled Finn and raised his brows challengingly. "It's not like it means anything. It's just a kiss. Right?"

Finn dropped his head. His silence spoke volumes. Quinn was right; Finn had a thing for that musical midget. Santana wasn't sure whether to laugh or to vomit.

"Quinn will find out and she'll kill me," Finn said, avoiding the question.

"It's not like anybody's going to tell."

Everybody turned their attention to Santana.

She weighed her options. She could go up to Quinn tell her that her boyfriend was stepping out on her with a woodland creature and do the loyal friend thing. But what would she get from that? A quick "Thanks, San-Tan" followed by Quinn cutting her losses and finding a new shiny new boyfriend. She'd remain Queen Bee and Santana would continue feeding off her crumbs. No thanks. Option two involved Finn's continued slide down the social ladder while he dragged Quinn down one rung at a time. Quinn was already starting to get desperate. If Finn were actually cheating on her all while Quinn was bending over backwards to keep him interested, she'd be humiliated when the truth finally came out. Finn would come out a loser for dating Rachel Berry, Quinn would come out a loser for groveling after him, and Santana and Puck would come out the power couple of McKinley.

"What happens in the library, stays in the library." Santana held up a hand for emphasis, "Scout's honor."

Finn shoved his hands in his pockets and kicked his foot nervously. "I don't know…"

"Fine, if you won't kiss her, _I _will," Puck decided with a shrug.

Rachel looked horrified but then intrigued.

"What? You can't do that!" Finn refuted.

"What's the big deal?" Puck didn't let Finn's height advantage intimidate him and got right up into his face. "If it doesn't mean anything." He took a step back and stroked his chin dramatically. "Oh wait, unless it does."

"That's not it," Finn said shaking his head adamantly. "You can't _dare yourself_. That's like against the rules or something."

Santana was silently fuming. "You can't kiss her because _we're_ dating!" She spat.

Puck narrowed his eyes. "Is that still going on?"

"Yes!"

He still didn't seem convinced. "I thought we broke up because I took you to _McDonald's_ for burgers."

"No, no, no, we made up because you let me super size my milkshake."

"Ugh," Kurt finally exploded. "Will someone just shut up and kiss Rachel already?"

Santana and Rachel collectively rolled their eyes when they realized that Finn and Puck had wordlessly agreed that Santana was the best candidate.

"Gag," Santana said dryly. "I'm getting bored. Finnochio, if you don't kiss Rachel in five seconds, I'm going to tell Quinn that you did."

"Don't I get a say in this," Rachel demanded. "What if I don't want to kiss either of you Neanderthals? It's insulting that you treat me like some community theater understudy while you engage in whatever testosterone induced muscle flexing…"

Finn lunged forward and silenced her with his lips, his hands settling on her hips while her arms flapped wildly mid-thought. Santana grinned to herself proudly, too disgusted by the sight of the lurch kissing the midget to pat herself on the back.

But then the room was filled with the crackling sound of Rachel's hand connecting to Finn's jaw. Everyone flinched, especially Finn.

"Don't use me as a pawn whenever it suits your popularity," she spat. "I'm not that pathetic."

"Wow," Kurt mouthed as he watched Rachel storm across the room in her typical "look at me" manner before taking an entitled seat at the far table to sulk.

"Rachel, wait," Finn said following after her. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, Finn," Santana called sweetly. This game was just beginning to get good. "You're holding up the game. It's still your turn."

He turned on his heels and clenched his fists tightly. "Santana," he nearly shouted. "Truth or dare?"

She shrugged, "I've got nothing to hide. Truth."

"What's going on between you and Brittany? The truth." He asked like he was so freaking clever or something.

"Um, we're friends? Duh."

"Really?" Finn raised his brows curiously. "That's funny because I think we've all totally seen a certain video from Katherine Romer's beginning of the year party. You know; the one with a popsicle."

So girls made out sometimes. It wasn't a big deal or anything. They were drunk and in a hot tub and Puck had been talking about Rainbow Parties while they were eating a rainbow colored Popsicle. Scenarios like that took place all the time, well maybe only in pornos, but it didn't make her a lesbian or anything.

"What you do after school in your bedroom is none of my business," she shrugged diverting the topic.

Finn was prepared though. "What about the time you threatened Josh Detwiler when he asked Brittany out last week then, huh?"

"Because Josh was a total loser," Santana said incredulously. "He bought her a tennis bracelet made of _cubic zirconia_!" She folded her arms over her chest, "What are you getting at Sherlock Hudson?"

"I just think it's interesting that you're down on some people all the time because of their sexuality or whatever," he shrugged.

"I'm not a lesbian, if that's what you're asking." It was true. She was dating Puckerman after all, and they did… like a lot… like all the time. Brittany was just her friend. Her super hot friend who made her feel good about herself and didn't make her want to be so mean all the time. It didn't mean anything.

Santana was fuming and didn't want to have these feelings or confusions, so she went on the attack.

"Kurt." She said stalking her prey. "Truth or dare."

Kurt was startled. "Dare," he said like a deer in headlights.

Santana leaned in dangerously close. "I dare you to kiss the person you're most attracted to."

Kurt looked around nervously. "Slim pickings, huh?" He fumbled with his bag, "Does anyone have a mirror? That's the only place I can think of for finding a good looking fella."

Finn laughed uncomfortably loud. "That's funny," he mumbled.

"Oh come on, don't cop out on us," Santana whined. "We're all dying to know who you think is the cutest!"

"No we're not," Finn replied.

"Actually, I'm kind of curious," Puck shrugged.

Kurt shook his head before answering politely. "Look Santana, I know what you're trying to do. I hear your vaguely homophobic comments and I know you have me classified as being a certain way because of my pleasant little quirks," he paused to take a deep breath and she realized he was about to cry. Suddenly Santana was struck with that rare feeling of guilt. He set his jaw and flipped away an errant strand of hair. "I'm not gay, okay?" He said firmly before storming off.

Not to be outdone, Rachel lifted her chin indignantly. "You people are sickening. You hide behind veiled insults and making others around you miserable because you think you're so much better, but the truth is you're just as lonely and isolated as the rest of us." With that she snapped her head dramatically in the direction Kurt left and performed a proper storm out.

"What a buzz kill," Santana muttered.

**Happy holidays everyone!**


	6. 12:31  Kurt Hummeltown Population 2?

**Sorry, the holidays are slowing down updates. Will return to normal next week, so long as I don't get buried in snow again.**

_12:31PM_

Kurt sank behind the last row of books and tucked himself neatly in the corner. Taking a few deep breaths he batted away the last of his stubborn tears. He was fearful of opening his compact mirror, knowing full well the blotchy mess that would appear before his eyes.

In the not too far distance, he could hear a soft pair of footsteps approaching. Kurt squeezed his eye shut tightly in an attempt to fight the next onslaught of tears. The steps grew closer and he crawled into an empty bookcase, thanking his lucky stars for his petite size being advantageous for the first time in his existence. His quick thinking did him no good though and as he finally opened his eyes he was met with a pair of white knee socks.

Kurt flinched, "Leave me alone, Rachel."

Rachel crouched down to meet him at eye level and picked out a random book on the shelf above. "Sorry, I was working on a research paper on," she looked at the spine of the book, "cats." She smiled sweetly. "I didn't mean to interrupt your privacy."

Kurt flashed her a look that was meant to scream, _okay then, go away_. But Rachel being Rachel decided to interpret as _sit down for a chat._

Rachel sat down and leaned against the wall beside him. "I just wanted you to know if you needed someone to talk to, I'm here."

He looked at her reluctantly. "Well I don't have anything to talk about so I'm all set, thank you."

She nodded slowly. "I guess I'm here for selfish reasons then. I couldn't stand to be in the same room with those people for another moment." Kurt couldn't help but agree. Santana was being overtly hostile and after months of daily dumpster tossing, Puck wasn't his cup of tea either. He found it ironic though, Rachel Berry complaining about people getting on _her _nerves. "Like it or not we're the only ones on the outside looking in. We have to stick together."

"I'm fine on my own."

"That's what I thought too," Rachel said sadly. "But then I found glee." Kurt rolled his eyes, he was about to sit through another "special" speech, he just knew it. "No matter how many people call you weird or say that you're strange, you know there will always be four other misfits who are just as weird or strange as you are. You're not alone."

"Five," Kurt corrected.

"What?"

"Five other people," he explained. "You only said four."

Rachel's face soured. "Well Finn doesn't really count, now does he? He's too good for us. At least that's what he thinks."

Kurt narrowed his eyes curiously. "What happened between you two exactly?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she fumed. Rachel Berry never diverted the spotlight.

He couldn't say that he wasn't at least a little interested in what had transpired between the two to cause so much friction. He'd never admit it though.

"He's just so clueless," she nearly shouted.

Kurt smirked, "Just face it, Finn is no Lloyd Dobbler."

Her lips spread into a genuine grin. "He'd probably say something like 'I know that guy, he was in my Spanish class last semester.'"

They both laughed. The laughter turned again to silence and Kurt pressed his lips together.

"I didn't get upset before because I was confused or anything," he said suddenly at ease.

"It's okay if you are. Nobody is going to judge you."

He laughed bitterly, "I get judged every day because of the way I look and the way I dress and the way I speak…"

"And you think people don't judge me everyday too? For being too short or wearing silly clothes or speaking too loud?" She countered.

"You have a point," he groaned. He let out a heavy sigh. "The truth is, I've never kissed anyone before and I didn't want to waste that experience on any of you." He pressed two fingers to his forehead. "It's mortifying enough to hear that _you_ have more experience than I do."

"I envy you," she said. "You know what my first kiss was like? The guy nearly vomited he was so repulsed by me and then he ran off at lightning speed demanding I not tell anyone about it." He cringed. "So forgive me for wishing that I waited so that it could be special. You're lucky that you've never been kissed."

"I'm sorry for seeking comfort in your misery," he said. "But I must admit I do feel better now."

"So are you ready to rejoin society?" She asked making no attempt to move.

Kurt smiled warmly, "No, I rather just sit here for a while longer. With you."

And so they sat there and talked about their favorite pita chips and musicals they wish would be revived on Broadway and where they saw themselves in five years (both famous and living in New York, obviously.)

And for the first time that he could remember, Kurt Hummel didn't feel impossibly different.


	7. 1:51 Puck's Got Friends in Low Places

_1:51PM_

Puck studied his drawing intently before turning his gaze back at his subject. Flipping his pencil to the eraser side, he pressed it against the image's breast and scrubbed until all that was left was a pile of rubber confetti. Turning the pencil back to the page he replaced the discarded body parts with a much larger substitute. Puck brought his eyes back to Rachel and then the doodle and nodded in approval. He would have to give the sketch to Finn for when he was shopping for plastic surgeons to help out Rachel with her issues.

Across the library, Santana sank into a chair across from Kurt. "Look I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings or whatever. We were just playing a game and I was trying to make it interesting. It's not like it was anything personal."

Kurt looked at her with his usual pretentious glare. "Your sincerity is delightful," he said dryly. Puck rolled his eyes. That was sincere for Santana. In fact, he was pretty sure that was the first time he heard her issue an apology to anyone before.

Santana leaned forward onto her elbows. "So why are you in detention?"

Kurt looked at her with his usual disinterest. "I told you, I said 'bitch' in class."

"I have like the ultimate cable package so I've seen every teenage drama series since 1987," Santana said leaning forward further until her chest was nearly flat against the table. "_Degrassi, 90210,_" she paused and cocked a brow. "_Dawson's Creek._ You lifted your excuse off _The Breakfast Club_ rip off episode."

"Your point?" He said in defeat.

"What could Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes have done wrong to get stuck in here for an entire day?" She asked.

Kurt looked at Puck nervously and then back to Santana. "Stashed a flare gun in my locker?"

Puck pressed his lips together tightly, he wouldn't tell, would he? His hand clenched in a fist and he made sure that Kurt could see it.

"Nice try," Santana laughed.

Puck's heart was racing. He traced his fingers across his neck but couldn't remember where he was supposed to find his pulse point. Maybe he was claustrophobic or something. Or he was getting cabin fever. Whatever happened when you were trapped, imprisoned. He needed to get out, he needed to escape, he needed a drink to calm his damn nerves.

He shot up from his chair, checked the library for security cameras or snipers even before he kicked open the door into the hallway. He checked both ways, just like his mother always taught him. The coast was clear.

"What do you think you're doing?" Rachel demanded folding her arms over her chest.

Puck hooked a thumb over his shoulder, "There's nobody out there. Not a soul."

"Mr. Schuester told us not to move," Finn joined in on the choir of annoying. "He'll be really pissed at us if we leave."

"Yeah," Puck replied dryly. "I'm sure there's a great Journey song out there for him to express his disappointment in us with."

"Fine," Rachel said with a shrug. "Enjoy spending the rest of your natural born life in Saturday detention then."

"Look, I'm not saying we should jump ship or go on the lamb or anything. I'm just suggesting that we go on a little field trip. He'll never know we were gone."

Finn found his way back from the land of the losers. "What did you have in mind?"

Puck grinned, "I may have something in my locker that will make the rest of this lame party a little more party and a lot less lame."

Santana was the first one by his side, obviously. Finn pushed back his chair from the table he sat at and stood slowly, loyalty still did exist. Kurt chewed his lip nervously before finally giving into peer pressure, good for him. This just left Rachel, who sat in her seat stubbornly.

"You coming?" Puck asked.

She narrowed her eyes. "At the threat of additional disciplinary action? No thank you."

"We're not going to get caught," he said suavely. "Trust me; I slip beneath the watchful radar of the school system all the time."

"Then why are you in detention?" She countered.

He frowned, she had a point. "Have fun doing jazz squares or whatever losers do when they're being lame and decidedly _not_ badass."

With that Puck pushed through the door with the rest of his gang on his heels. The hallway was silent except for the patter of their footsteps until he heard the creak of a door. _Crap._ They all darted into the nearest door jam.

The footsteps approached. It was Rachel. There was a collective sigh shared by all.

"This couldn't be Rachel Berry," Puck said snidely.

"Shut it, Puckerman," she bit back.

Puck laughed to himself as he continued the way to his locker. Spinning the dial of the lock to the practiced numbers, he pulled the door open. Rachel and Kurt gasped at the sight of all the nudie clippings taped in the door. "Hot, right?" He said with a wink.

Fishing through his locker he pulled out a liter of Jack Daniels.

"Awe-some," Santana sang and snatched the bottle to inspect it. "Where'd you get this?"

"I lifted it off Mr. St Pierre after he sliced his thumbs off and the medics were carting him away. It was hidden behind like forty bottles of Robitussin."

"Robo-tripping is the coolest," Santana agreed.

"We're not twenty one," Rachel said in shock. "We can't drink that. That's illegal."

"Oh get off your high horse," Santana said with the roll of her eyes.

"It's reprehensible!"

"Shh," Finn hushed closing his hand over Rachel's mouth. "Did you hear that?"

Puck closed his locker softly and took a few gentle steps down the hall. He crept around the corner to listen more closely. Finn stepped carefully beside him. The squeaking sound of wheels turning grew louder. "Is it the janitor?" Finn whispered.

A janitors cart appeared at the end of the hall with a familiar figure pushing it.

"Figgins!" Puck whispered in panic, pushing Finn out of the way to dart down the hall. Finn was quickly on his heels and although the others weren't sure why they should, they took off running as well. Rounding a corner, Puck froze when he saw Mr. Schuester halfway down the hall polishing some cheerleading trophies.

"Hold up," he said through gritted teeth, catching Finn before he jumped out into viewing range. Santana and Kurt kept running though, clearing the hall before Mr. Schue could notice.

Santana checked over her shoulder to see Puck, Finn, and Rachel trapped on the other side of the hall and pointed a mocking finger at them. The library was a clear shot for them, only a few doors away.

Puck flashed Santana his best, _bitch please_, face.

Santana lifted the bottle of Jack to her mouth and pretended to drink from it before offering a sweet wave. _Leave no man behind my ass_, he thought to himself.

"We'll have to double back and take the long way past the gym," Puck said as quietly as he could.

"We're going to get caught, and we're going to get expelled," Rachel said nearly in tears.

"You're kidding right?" Puck wanted to laugh. "We'll get a strict talking to tops."

This didn't seem to calm her nerves.

"We'll be fine," Finn smiled sweetly and took her hand in his. "Come on." _Barf._

They were just about to pass the gymnasium when they heard another set of footsteps. Squinting into the shadows they saw it was Coach Sylvester. Puck pushed them into the nearest door jam, sandwiching Rachel between him and Finn.

Puck looked down at the perky brunette pressed between them and then up to Finn. "Hot," he mouthed to him. Finn nodded his head in agreement.

Puck pretended to tap Rachel in the ass and Finn chuckled.

"What's going on," Rachel asked in a paranoid tone. "Is he putting gum in my hair?" She asked wiggling her entire body against them as she tried to glance over her shoulder.

Finn let out a restrained grunt, he was such an amateur. "No, he's not doing anything," he said tightly.

Puck stuck out his tongue and pretended to stick it in her ear. Finn narrowed his eyes in a stern "dude!" manner.

"Coach Sylvester cannot find out that Finn and I are stepping out on detention. We're already on her radar; if she catches us she'll end the glee club for sure!" Finn and Rachel looked at Puck expectantly.

"Wait. Hold up." Puck said now that he was in a corner. "You want me to sacrifice myself for the glee club?"

Finn shrugged, "She has a point. Ms. Sylvester doesn't even know you're in detention and she doesn't seem to have a problem with you. In fact, I think she might kind of like you."

He took offense. "Obviously. Look at me, I'm a stud."

"And that's why we need your help, man. You've got this."

Puck groaned and slowly began to out from the doorway. Finn threw up the rock horns with his pointer and pinky fingers, dragged them across his tongue, and swiped each finger across corresponding eyebrows before directing the gesture to Puck.

Puck mirrored the salute with a stone face. He remembered teaching "the move" to Finn when they were eleven because he was convinced it would get them more chicks. Of course now Puck knew that it was totally lame and didn't work at all, Finn obviously had yet to get the memo.

Puck took a deep breath. "Coach Sylvester," he said plastering a grin across his lips. "Just the person I was looking for."

She glared at him. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure who you are and I don't care to find out."

He chose to ignore this and took a step closer to put an arm around her and steer her gaze away from his hiding friends. "I just changed my protein powder brand and wanted to see if it had a positive effect on my guns," he said flexing his arms.

"I'm going to have to interrupt you there because your ridiculous hairstyle resembles the pubic hair of an attention seeking adult magazine model whose absentee father has led her on a tailspin of self destruction."

Puck narrowed his eyes. "But…" he was at a loss for words.

"I'm going to walk away now," she said turning on her heels to leave.

Last time he helped out a "friend," he fumed as he stomped the rest of the way to the library. Nobody insulted Puckasaurus and got away with it. He pushed his way through the doors of the library ready to chew Finn out.

"Here man," Finn said extending an airplane cup full of Jack. "Saved the first shot for you."

Puck grudgingly took the glass; he could never turn down a good drink. "You owe me," he said pointing a finger to his chest. "Big time."

"Cheers, dude," he said clinking cups and throwing back the whisky. And as was with most dudes, all was forgiven. "Come on," he nodded his head over his shoulder.

Kurt, Santana, and Rachel sat on the floor in a circle with cups spread out in front of them. Kurt cracked open a can of Diet Coke and began dividing it evenly. Puck cringed. Worst Jack and Coke ever.

"This is a terrible, terrible idea," Rachel said picking up the cup to inspect the contents. She took a quick sniff of the liquid. "It smells like some sort of cleaning product."

Finn took a seat beside her, "Just try it. It totally starts tasting better after a while."

"I just want to make it clear that I am _very _against this," she emphasized before she took a sip and immediately started coughing. Finn handed her the cup of Coke to wash it down. "Is it supposed to burn?"

Puck took a seat next to Santana, "That's the best part."

"Here," Finn said snatching both cups and pouring the alcohol into the soda. "It's easier to drink when you mix them together."

She smiled warmly. "Thanks, Finn."

Puck threw back another shot and let the warm liquid burn down his throat. Who needed singing and dancing about your feelings when you could numb them with a nice and friendly bottle?

He poured everyone another shot and before he knew it Finn was on his feet. When it came to alcohol, Finn was a notorious light weight to disastrous and hilarious effects. He began to stomp his foot to what Puck assumed was some sort of beat.

"_Well I ain't seen my baby since I don't know when,_

_I've been drinking bourbon, whiskey, scotch and gin _

_Gonna get high man I'm gonna get loose_," he sang.

Kurt was the next on his feet to join in. "_Need me a triple shot of that juice _

_Gonna get drunk don't you have no fear._"

Puck threw his head back and shut his eyes. This was too embarrassing to watch. They were drinking _whiskey_ he wanted to shout. _Whiskey._

Rachel, obviously, was the next one on her feet. "_I want one bourbon, one scotch and one beer _

_One bourbon, one scotch, one beer._" They were shouting now as they danced around the room.

Kurt pulled out his MacBook and suddenly music was blaring through the library. Puck considered slipping the electronic into his backpack but opted for another shot of Jack instead. Santana and Rachel jumped onto a table and danced around, Santana's Cheerio skirt flapping around wildly as she moved. Kurt hoisted himself onto a bookshelf and kicked his legs to the beat. Puck's eyes scanned the room and landed on Finn, who may or may not have been impersonating an epilepsy victim.

"What's going on in here?"

Puck snatched the Jack and hid it under his tee shirt.

"Mr. Schue!" Rachel chirped as she jumped from the table and caught his arms to steady herself. "We were rehearsing a number for glee club!"

Puck smiled tightly and nodded his head in agreement.

"You're in detention," Mr. Schuester said, oblivious to the smell of liquor running pungent through the air, probably from all the cleaning products he was inhaling all day. "I appreciate you helping out with glee assignments, but please keep it down. You're not supposed to be having fun. This is supposed to be disciplinary."

"Don't worry Mr. Schue, we won't make another peep," Puck said, still cradling the body tightly against his chest. "We promise."

Mr. Schuester backed out slowly, giving them one last warning glare before slipping out the door. Kurt waited for the door to slip shut before hitting play on his laptop again. Everyone returned to singing and dancing except for Santana who's eyes grew dark as they turned to Puck's direction.

She crawled towards Puck and placed a hand on his thigh, "I am totally buzzed."

He grinned and took a quick swig of whiskey straight from the bottle while he calculated what corner of the library they could run off to.

**Happy New Year!**


	8. 3:40 Santana Lopez in the Mirror

_3:40PM_

Santana Lopez adjusted her ponytail before picking up a nail file from her manicure set. Puck lay stretched out on the table in front of her and occasionally stirred before settling back into his peaceful sleep. Struck with a brilliant idea, she carefully lifted his limp hand and set it on the table top with his fingers sprawled before her. Reaching into her purse, she retrieved a handful of nail polish bottles and tapped her chin thoughtfully before selecting Razzle Berry Pink.

From the next table over, Kurt glanced up from the homework he was diligently working on and let out a restrained laugh. Santana held up a warning hand to silence him before flashing a deliciously devilish smile.

She dabbed the brush into the liquid before stroking it over each of Puck's fingernails and then lifted his hand to inspect her work. After finishing Puck's manicure, Santana was once again sufficiently bored.

Across the library Rachel and Finn giggled over a book, reminding Santana of her original mission. If she could make Rachel hot instead of ridiculously hideous, Finn would act in total horn dog male fashion, humiliating Quinn and leaving toppling her off of the literal and proverbial pyramid. Rachel being hot would not be a threat to Santana because her awful and annoying personality would cancel out any of her attractive features, leaving Santana number one and Rachel like infinity or whatever. Santana's plan was golden.

Twisting the cap tightly onto the nail polish, Santana tossed it back into her purse before slinging it over her shoulder. "I'm going to the ladies room," she announced. She paused expectantly and gestured towards Rachel. "Strawberry Shortcake, you coming?" Rachel didn't acknowledge her. "Kiebler, I'm talking to you."

Rachel arched a brow, "Excuse me?"

"It's called female bonding; where girls gather in a generally disgusting location for taboo acts all in the name of gossip." Santana folded her arms over her chest impatiently. "It's like girl code, Berry."

Rachel looked to Finn who shrugged in his usual dumbfounded demeanor. "Is this like a trap or something? You hate me."

"Get over yourself," Santana rolled her eyes. "This is in the name of woman-hood; no one goes to the bathroom alone."

Rachel pressed her lips together. "I do have a rather pressing urge to powder my nose," she said with a shrug as she gathered up her own ridiculous purse, in fact Santana was certain she had the same purse when she was seven.

Exiting the library they were immediately accosted by Mr. Schuester. "Where do you two think you are going?" He asked.

"Do you really want me to go into detail how the female cycle works?" Santana asked innocently.

Mr. Schue smiled tightly and motioned for them to continue on their way.

"The male mind is all too predictable," she said smugly to Rachel as they rounded the corner to the ladies room.

Upon entering the bathroom Rachel headed straight for one of the stalls. "Where are you going?" Santana asked expectantly.

"To use the bathroom?" Rachel asked perplexed.

She cringed while perched in front of the mirror. "Ew." She fished through her bag for a tube of lip gloss and smeared it across her lips. "Come here," she gestured towards the countertop.

Rachel approached her cautiously like a shy dog about to be punished.

"Come here," Santana repeated. Rachel stood before her. "You have really pretty eyelashes. Has anybody ever told you that?"

She narrowed her eyes. "No."

"You should try curling them," Santana decided and she pulled out an eyelash curler from her purse.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" She asked nervously. "You're always so awful."

"It's high school," Santana shrugged. Holding Rachel's chin in her hand she crimped her lashes. "It's not like I have a problem with you or anything."

"Then why do you call me names? Or laugh at me when the boys throw slushies in my face? Or post rude comments about me on my MySpace page?"

She removed a moist towelette and dabbed off Rachel's lip gloss. "You shouldn't wear so much makeup," she said. "It makes you look like a drag queen."

Rachel dropped her gaze. "Oh."

"You could be really pretty if you wanted to," Santana said opening her makeup kit. "I mean, if you stopped dressing like my American Girl Doll."

Rachel's eyes lit up, "You think?"

Santana carefully applied Rachel's makeup, slowly stroking blush across each cheek.

"It's a social hierarchy, you know," she said after a long moment of silence. "You either eat the weakling or risk getting eaten. You've just managed to step on all the wrong toes."

"What does that mean?"

"Quinn's the only one who has real beef with you," she explained. "At first she was jealous that your gay dads let you do whatever you want, because her dad is like super strict and a total creep." Santana handed her a tissue to blot her lipstick. "But now she hates you because Finn is freakishly into you."

Rachel beamed but then quickly shook her head. "I don't think that's true."

"Finn's dumb," she shrugged, "anything is possible."

Rachel stepped towards the sink to inspect her makeover in the mirror. "He's ashamed to be seen with me. I just wish there was a way that I could be cool, so that I wasn't making such a fool of myself all the time."

"All you have to do is show some boobage," Santana said dumbly. "That increases cool factor by like tenfold."

"Excuse me?" Rachel asked incredulously.

"Cleavage isn't a type of knife a butcher uses," she explained. "It's a device a woman uses to _work it._"

"That doesn't make any sense," she shook her head. "Your Cheerios uniform covers everything but your shoulders."

"That's because I don't need cheap ploys. Look at me, I'm hot." Santana unbuttoned the top three buttons of Rachel's blouse. "There," she said turning her back towards the mirror. "Now you're a hottie instead of a nottie."

Rachel turned her eyes back at her reflection and frowned as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Why do we have to act like somebody we're not? Why can't we just be ourselves and be appreciated for who we are?"

Santana scoffed, "That's what college is for."

"Don't you ever get tired of pretending?" Rachel asked. "You spend your days as a lackey all in the name of popularity. Where's the fulfillment in that?"

Santana glared. She had a point. Sure Santana liked the power that being popular brought. The fear she inflicted on her lesser peers was always a good self esteem booster, but being trapped in a room with Kurt and Rachel all day made her feel guilty about how she behaved. Usually when she insulted someone she didn't see the aftermath. She called someone ugly, felt hot and moved on with her day. Suddenly being cool didn't feel so fulfilling. But life wasn't that simple. She wasn't going to take a suicide jump off the social pyramid because a couple of freaks were making her feel bad about herself. She was so close to the top and gaining the spotlight that came with being Queen Bee.

Growing up, her father was too busy with work and building his reputation in the medical world to pay any attention to her and her mother was too high on pain killers and Botox injections to notice her. Her Cheerios uniform was all she had to get noticed. Sure Rachel had her weird clothes and overbearing personality, but she had an amazing voice to make her special. If Santana Lopez wasn't the bitchy cheerleader, than who was she?

Santana took a deep breath and then ran her fingers through Rachel's hair to part it on the side. "You shouldn't wear a center part," she said plainly. "It puts too much emphasis on your enormous schnoze."

Rachel nodded slowly.

Santana rolled her eyes and said in spite of herself. "And you should just be yourself. Finn seems to really like that."

With that, she gathered her things and turned on her heels to exit the bathroom. Santana would just have to help Santana Lopez some other day.


	9. 4:30 Finn Hudson's One Man Crusade

_4:30PM_

Finn Hudson couldn't stop staring at Rachel Berry's boobs. Ever since she returned from the bathroom with Santana he couldn't take his eyes off them. They were just… there.

Suddenly a scrap of paper bounced off Rachel's shoulder from the other side of the table. Rachel seemed oblivious to the air assault and another pellet of paper missed the target and landed unnoticed in her lap. Finn glanced over to recognize that Puck too had discovered the joys of Rachel's cleavage. He balled another scrap of paper and flicked it in her direction and it disappeared down her blouse.

Rachel was finally aware of the game and gasped as if she had swallowed a bug.

"Cut it out, perv," Santana snapped from beside Rachel, probably jealous because nobody was paying attention to her or something.

Finn noticed something then and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. Rachel was sitting next to Santana, who sat next to Kurt, who sat across from Puck, who sat next to him. They were all sitting at the same table. He wondered when exactly that happened.

Puck only glared at Santana and worked at chipping the remnants of nail polish from his fingernails. Finn couldn't help but snicker. Whenever Puck got his butt handed to him it always made Finn feel a little good about himself, especially since Puck acted like he was such a badass and was always giving him such a hard time.

Rachel reached down her shirt to pick out the paper ball and adjusted her shirt by pulling it down further. Finn's breath caught in his throat and he found himself inadvertently leaning forward with his jaw unhinged. She caught him staring and he turned his eyes quickly to the ceiling and began to nervously whistle.

"I can't believe we made it through an entire day of detention," Kurt said dryly, lifting his attention from the game of Dots he and Santana were playing. Finn arched a brow at this. Didn't they hate each other?

"I know," Puck added. "I've gotten more sleep this afternoon than I have all semester."

"I can't believe I'm saying this," Santana began. "But even though I was stuck hanging with you losers all day, I actually had fun." _No kidding,_ Finn rolled his eyes. She spent the whole day putting everyone down.

"Let's just stop kidding ourselves," Rachel said suddenly. "None of this so called bonding is actually going to stick. Come five o'clock you'll all go back to treating Kurt and me like you're so much better than us. Because we don't choose to hide who we are." She stood to her feet and placed her hands on her hips. "You people are so terrified of what other people will think of you that you're living a lie."

Finn wasn't always the most self aware person in the world, but even he could tell that at least some of her pointed tirade was directed towards him. Ever since they started hanging out, all he ever did was disappoint her. She just didn't understand how hard it was to be him. Everybody was always depending on him to throw dweebs in trashcans or sing the big solo or throw the winning touchdown or write the best faith poem in Celibacy Club. There were too many pressures for him to deal with and yes, he admitted it, sometimes he took the easy way out. But he was trying to change. He hadn't even stepped within a hundred feet of a dumpster since joining glee and just the other day he slapped a slushie out of Puck's hand before he could toss it in someone's face. Of course it turned out that Puck was actually going to drink it so they had to go all the way back to the Quick Mart so Finn could buy him another one, but that was beside the point. Wasn't joining glee club enough to show his true colors? Did he really have to go into detail about how lame he actually was?

He let out a heavy sigh. He was going to prove to Rachel that he was better than that.

"I'm not in detention because of the assembly," he said, breaking the awkward silence that Rachel's rant had ignited.

"Duh," Santana said dumbly.

Finn needed all the confidence he could get to tell this story and thus chose to ignore her. "Yesterday, after school, I was rehearsing for glee and I…" he swallowed thickly. "I got a little excited."

"Hold up," Santana lifted her hands in a halting motion. "You got a hard on from signing?"

He pressed his lips together and his eyes inadvertently settled on Rachel. "Yeah."

Rachel gasped as if suddenly understanding the situation.

Kurt stared at him dumbfounded. "This is like a horrible car crash. I know it can't end well, but I can't look away."

"It gets worse," he said tightly. "I sort of lost control of the situation and had to, uh… relieve the tension."

Puck dropped his face in his hands from second hand embarrassment, Rachel was too in shock to even look at him, and Santana couldn't stop laughing.

"Oh my God," Kurt said slowly.

_*swipe*_

_The tension was building._

_Finn shut his eyes and pictured a U.S. Postal Man bouncing off his windshield. _

_It didn't work. He took a deep breath and pictured it again._

_Post Man crashing the glass as his mother shrieked in terror. But suddenly it wasn't his mom in the car. It was Rachel. And they weren't in a car they were in his bed. And she wasn't sitting next to him; she was on top of him, grinding on him like in their glee performance. _

_He shot to his feet._

"_Did I do something wrong?" She asked immediately sitting up._

_His entire body tightened and he had to pull his shirt down to hide his obvious erection. Who got a hard on from five seconds of kissing? He berated himself._

"_No, no, uh, I just got to go," he said quickly, too panicked and deprived of necessary blood flow to his brain to think clearly. It was too mortifying to comprehend and he wanted nothing more than for Rachel to forget how… quick firing he was. "Look, just please don't tell anyone about this. Okay?" And with that he darted off the stage. _

_He ran down the hallway towards the gym. "Mailman, mailman," he chanted through gritted teeth. _

_Halfway to the locker room he remembered it was Friday. The hockey team used the locker room on Friday's because the football team didn't have practice and if Karofsky caught Finn jerking it in the shower he would never hear the end of it._

_In a panic Finn turned down the administrative hall. The only club that met down there was OCD anonymous and he knew there was no way any of them would use a public restroom._

_Upon entering the men's room, Finn checked every stall before locking himself into the last one. Pulling down his pants he let out a huge sigh of relief. Finally taking matters into his own… hand, he was so close to the edge that he didn't hear the creak of the door._

_A loud groan passed his lips and finally the tension in his groin was relieved. Finn fought his labored breath as he quickly cleaned up and swung the stall door open, startled when he saw Principal Figgins horrified expression on the other side._

"_That was a really good poop. Those burritos are killer. But so… so awesome." He said awkwardly to no avail. He was busted._

_*swipe*_

"Principal Figgins said that he thought I should check myself into rehab for sex addiction or at least join his church's youth group, but he couldn't get approval from the school board so he settled on Saturday detention," Finn said staring at the floor.

Nobody could meet each other's gaze.

"That was the most embarrassing story I've ever heard," Santana said after a long moment.

"So I guess I'm just as lame as anyone else," Finn said with a nod. "I'm definitely not too good for anyone in this room."

He finally met Rachel's eye and offered her a small smile and for once she didn't seem so disappointed in him.

"Kurt's not in detention for whatever dumb reason he said before," Puck suddenly said. Everyone snapped to attention. Finn narrowed his eyes at his friend; apparently he wasn't the only one swallowing his pride. "After school I was trying to throw him in the dumpster and he punched me in the face." Finn's eyes darted to petite Kurt with wide eyes. "That's why I have this black eye," he gestured towards the bruise. "I didn't fight ninjas or anything. Kurt punched me."

"Oh my God!" Santana shrieked. "I can't believe I had sex with you in the reference section over _that_."

"Why didn't you say anything, Kurt?" Finn asked.

"I threatened to beat him up if he told anyone," Puck said before Kurt could open his mouth to speak. "But the truth is even though he's small, he's like freakishly strong and could totally take me if he wanted to."

"I considered revealing the truth," Kurt said with a proud smirk. "But the image of him quivering on the floor, after I so eloquently _punched his lights out_ was more than enough for me. I didn't need the entire school to share in my joy." He paused thoughtfully, "Plus I figured so long as I held Puck's dirty little secret I'd have some sort of leverage. There goes _that_ power trip."

Finn nodded proudly. Now Rachel couldn't be mad at him anymore. Not only was _he_ a loser but Puck was a loser too, _and_ Kurt was cool now. "What about you Santana?" He asked hoping to throw a perfect game with his leadership and heroism.

"I'm appalled," she said folding her arms across her chest defiantly. "I can't believe I wasted all my time with you and Puckerman. It's _embarrassing!_ What with Finn being in the early stages of becoming an internet pedophile and Puck unable to hold his ground against a Swedish milkmaid? I can't even look at you."

"Oh come on," Kurt spoke up. "You've never done anything stupid or silly or self deprecating? You're entire life has been an endless reign of superiority?"

Santana turned her eyes up to the ceiling as if to recount every event of her life. "Yep, sounds about right."

Finn and the rest of the room joined in on a collective eye roll. Santana was so fake, no wonder everybody hated her.

"Didn't you at least have braces or something?" He asked.

"Nope," she smirked. "Invisaline." Of course.

The library door swung open and Mr. Schuester appeared. "Hey guys, looks like you've just about made it."

"Thank God!" Santana sighed. "I think loser-dom is becoming contagious," she said looking pointedly at Puck.

"Well hopefully you've learned your lesson Santana," Will said. "Skipping class will not be tolerated. If you had just seen the nurse instead of leaving school grounds to 'shop', all of this could have been avoided."

"What the hell does that mean?" Puck asked upon Mr. Schue leaving.

Santana distracted herself by running her fingers through her ponytail, hoping the topic would be dropped.

Finn wasn't going to give up that easily, leaning forward on his elbows he cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah Santana, what does that mean?"

"I was having lady troubles, what Mr. Schue did was sexual discrimination," she answered defiantly.

"Finn was having boy troubles and you don't see him complaining," Puck said hooking a thumb in Finn's direction. Finn frowned.

"I really, really, needed a new pair of dollies for my Cheerios uniform," she explained, still vague on the details. "So I went during Spanish class and Mr. Schuester caught me afterwards with a bag from Dick's Sporting Goods."

"What the hell are dollies?" Puck asked.

"They're the underwear part that goes over your underwear," Finn explained. "Quinn wears like three pairs when we're making out so that Jesus won't get HPV or something." He flinched. Maybe he shouldn't have said that in front of Rachel.

"Why would you need another pair?" Kurt asked, now equally intrigued as the other boys.

Santana was getting angry now, which was never a good thing. "I got something on them, okay?"

"Like what?" Puck continued the unintentional game of 20 questions.

"It was ketchup," Santana sneered.

Finn wasn't sure what was so embarrassing about that, he got food on his clothes all the time. He thought for a moment. He had never seen Santana eat tator tots before and that was like the only thing worth eating with ketchup in the cafeteria. Unless she was having a burger or something, which was gross.

Puck however, blew up with laughter at this revelation. "That is so gross!"

"Enough, we get it," Rachel stood up for her former nemesis. "I don't get it though. If you had a valid reason for leaving school grounds, why did Mr. Schuester still give you detention?"

"Because I did what Coach Sylvester told us to do if ever accosted by him. Tell him to shove it and insult his hairstyle."

"That'll do it," Kurt nodded slowly.

"So, whatever, I'm not always superior, I'll get over it," Santana snapped in defeat.

Finn smiled proudly and turned his gaze back to Rachel. He could be better. He could show the school that it was okay to be not cool sometimes, that maybe that's what makes you cool. McKinley was going to see a new social order, and he was going to do it all for her.


	10. 5:08 Rachel Berry's Utopia

_5:08PM_

Rachel Berry sat on the steps of McKinley High School and waited for her fathers to pick her up. She had been the first one to dart out of the library following Mister Schuester's dismissal, as she was fully prepared for the utopian society that had developed during the day's activities to transform back to the social caste system the moment freedom was regained. She just wasn't ready for everyone to hate her again.

The sun hung low in the sky, and there were only a few cars left in the parking lot all collected near the athletics' field where people were enjoying the last few weekends of summer. Rachel checked her watch for the time and frowned. Her fathers were never late.

The doors burst open and Kurt was the first to appear. His messenger bag hanging delicately from his shoulder as he typed furiously on his cell phone. "Have a nice night," he said to Rachel as he made his way towards the parking lot. Pausing for a moment he turned on his heels. "What are you doing tomorrow afternoon?"

Rachel perched her lips _watching the Way We Were in my PJs while eating junk food with my dads?_ She shook her head. "Nothing."

"Good," he said. "Mercedes and I were going to go to the mall to help reinvent her wardrobe." He shivered just at the thought of it. "You should come. It will be fun."

She grinned brightly, "I'd love to!"

As she watched Kurt make his way towards his Range Rover, she didn't hear the next figure approach her.

"Hey," Puck said plainly. He looked out at the horizon and had to squint at the bright light. "I was thinking about what happened between me and Kurt and it got me thinking about what you said before. You know about having two iPods and being a loser or whatever." He took a deep breath and rolled his eyes. "I'm going to try to be a good person, you know beat people up less. When Kurt hit me it was humiliating!" He realized he was drifting off the point he was making. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry I ruined your stuff… and you know hit you in the face with those slushies all those times."

She frowned. "I forgive you." Placing her hands in her laps she carefully inspected each fingernail. "Why do you do it? What are you trying to prove?"

"Sometimes it's easier to scare the crap out of someone than to get them to like you," he shrugged. "It's just the way it is. Besides some people can just be really annoying sometimes."

She lifted her gaze to look at him. "You should join glee club, Noah. I think it'd be good for you."

He laughed and began to make his way towards the parking lot. "Right," he scoffed. "Ask me again after the lobotomy."

Just then Kurt's Range Rover pulled out of the parking lot and he slowed to offer Rachel a wave.

"Kurt, wait!" Puck chased after him. "Give me a ride; I'm on your way."

Against his better judgment, Kurt brought the car to a halt. "I don't know why I'm doing this," he muttered as Puck climbed in.

Rachel watched wistfully as the truck drive off. Behind her back, a pair of footsteps approached and passed right by her. "Goodbye, Santana," she called after the girl as she strut off causing her Cheerios skirt to bounce in step.

She stopped and glanced over her shoulder. "Bye, _Rachel._" She turned to leave again but instead pivoted back towards her. "Look, Berry, just so you know, I don't have a problem with you." She placed a hand on her hip. "I mean we'll probably never be friends or anything, but we're cool, okay? I'll try to cut the name calling and the teasing and whatever, but…" she sighed heavily, "I'll _try_ to be nicer."

Rachel stood to her feet to approach her. "You shouldn't _try_ to be nice," she said. "You should try to be yourself."

Santana arched a curious brow. "Okay," she said, turning back to the parking lot. She paused again and reached into her purse. "Here," she said extending a tube of lip gloss. "It looks better on you anyway."

"Thank you," she said, watching the cheerleader disappear into her car. Rachel opened up the lip gloss and applied it to her lips, startled when the door opened again and Finn appeared. "Hey," she said brightly.

"Hey," he replied with a half grin.

"Are you waiting to get picked up too?" She asked.

"Nah," he said slipping his hands into his pockets. "I'm just gonna walk, I don't live too far."

"Oh," she said.

"I can wait with you if you want?"

She sank back onto the steps and shook her head. "That's okay; I'll just see you on Monday."

He sank down beside her anyway and bounced his foot impatiently.

After a long moment of silence she finally spoke. "Can I ask you something?"

His leg froze and he turned his gaze to her carefully. "Like what?"

She could already feel the blush form in her cheeks and had to bow her head. "When you were… the reason you got detention…" she paused and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Was it because of me?"

Finn's eyes widened as they usual did when he was pushed into a corner. Rocking his head back and forth he pursed his lips as if carefully calculating his next move. "Kind of."

She looked away. "It's just you ran away so quickly, I thought I did something wrong."

"No," he said quickly. "It was me, I just… I really like you Rachel, I do. I like you too much, that's the problem."

"Why is it?"

"Ever since I joined glee," he explained. "I'm not sure what I want anymore. I used to think that all I wanted in high school was to be popular. To be the quarterback and to date the super hot cheerleader, but now there's _you_ and glee and…" he flinched. "Not that I don't think you're super hot," he corrected with an uncomfortable chuckle. "I'm sorry; I just always say the wrong thing."

She smiled bashfully. Nobody had ever called her _hot_ before.

"I think I just need to figure out who I am, you know?" He shrugged. "On my own."

"I think that's admirable, Finn," she said trying to hide the hint of disappointment form her voice. Her father's black Volvo rolled up to rescue her and she stood quickly. "I hope you find him soon," she said gathering her things. "Because I think he's a really great guy." Marching towards the car she threw one last glance at Finn sitting on the steps staring at his hands thoughtfully, and couldn't help but smile.

_Don't you forget about me._ She thought, slipping into the front seat.

**END**

**...**

**Just want to thank everyone who reviewed and stuck with the story. I had a lot of fun with parts of it and I'm glad you liked it too. You would not believe how encouraging it is to hear what other people think of your little day dreams. Thanks again for reading!  
**


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